Tear strip guide



Nov. 24, 1953 H, N j 2,660,331

TEAR STRIP GUIDE Filed Oct. 27, 1949 1 Z E9.1. wag.

INVENTOR 1 I BY 11 "I ATTORNEYS- Patented Nov. 24, 1953 TEAR STRIP GUIDE William H. Inman, Keokuk, Iowa I Application October 27, 1949, Serial No. 123,837

1 Claim.

This invention relates to an improved strip guide for use with can opening keys on which is wound the strip to be severed from a can to be opened.

An annoyance and inconvenience well known to housewives and others using can opening keys of the type described is that experienced when the strip being wound upon the key slips out of the plane of rotation of said key, thus making the completion of the task difficult.

It is an important object of the present invention to provide an improved strip guide of the character stated which will provide a bearing in which the key can be rotated, and which will have arms extending along opposite side edges of the strip, so as to retain the strip in the plane of key rotation.

Another important object is to provide a strip guide of the character stated which can be manufactured at a minimum cost, is readily attachable to a container or can be sold separately, and which can additionally be used as a clip for the key itself from which the key can be readily removed for the purpose of severing a strip in opening a container.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds,

the invention consists of certain novel details of construction and combinations of parts, hereinafter, more fully described and pointed out in the claim, it being understood that changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit of the invention as claimed.

, Referring to the drawings Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a strip guide formed in accordance with the invention, a key being IT. applied thereto for the purpose of winding a strip,

All this is conventional construction and does not per se constitute part of the present inven- However, in accordance with the present invention, and referrin in particular to Fig. 3, I

provide a strip guide comprised of a single piece of metal material bent to shape, and formed approximately to a U-shape, this being provided with the parallel arms 8 and 9. The arm 8, as readily seen from Figs. 2 and. 3, is inturned at its free end toward the arm 9 as at It, and the free end of the laterally extended portion I0 is rounded off or beveled as at H for a purpose to become apparent hereinafter, said rounded end ll being spaced closely from the adjacent surface of the opposite arm 9.

The arm 9, in the form of Fig. 3, is extended beyond the laterally extended portion It as is particularly shown at [2, and spaced from the end of the forward extension l2 isa weakened portion l3.

By reason of this construction, it may be seen that the portion I2 is spot welded readily to the top of a container 5 in the manner in which the keys 1 themselves have been spot welded heretofore. When the container is sold, it will have the strip guide spot welded thereto in this manner, and the key 7 will be clipped directly to the strip guide, thus to eliminate spot welding of the arms.

"container sold with the related. I I V -When it is desired to sever the strip 6' for the Fig. 3 is a perspective view of one form of strip guide.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of another form. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of another form. Fig. 6 is a perspective view of another form. Referring to the drawings in detail, a can has been designated 5, and this is equipped with the usual strip 6 adapted to be severed from the can for the purpose of opening the same. Conventionally, a key I is formed with an eye in which a projecting tongue on the end of the strip 6 can be entered, and as a result, the key 1 is wound,

thus winding the strip 6 while at the same time severing the strip from the container.-

key also to the container. For the purpose of clipping the key I to the guide, the arms 8 and 9 are sprung apart a short distance and the apertured handle of the kay I is entered between said When the arms are released, they spring toward each other thus narrowing the opening between the portion It and arm 9, and the key is thus clipped readily tothe strip guide and the parts so attached and purpose of opening the container, the user simply grasps the strip guide, and pulling it upwardly from'the container top, causes the strip guide to 'breakoff its end l2 along the line of the weakened portion I3. The strip guide after having been broken is illustrated in Fig. 2.

Thereafter, the key 1 is pulled out of. the strip guide, the rounded end I I permitting the arms of the guide to spring apart for the purpose. The

tongue of the strip to be removed is then pulled straight outwardly from the side wall of the. container, and the strip guide positioned as illustrated in Fig. 2. V

In this connection, intermediate the arm .8,

there is integrally formed uponsaid arm a'hook -,for the key during the operationedges of the plate-lik hooks are convex and portion 14, while a similar hook portion I5 is formed upon the arm 9. The hooks l4, [5 respectively define open ended slots l6, I! extending longitudinally of the respective arms, and the inner ends of said slots are enlarged inwardly and along curving lines as particularly shown at 18 and 19 in Fig. 3.

As a result, with the strip guide positioned as mentioned above, th key I is simply entered in the slots f6 and H and the tongue of the strip 6- to be removed is entered in the conventional key eye formed in the shank of the key. The key now rotated for the purpose of winding the strip 6 thereupon and the strip guide will automatically keep the strip 6 in the plane of key rotation thus to prevent the improper functioning of the key. As the key is wound, it will be noted that the key is continuously pulled toward the can side wall, so as to bear continuously in the inner recesses i8 and Informed in the inner ends or. the slots and H. slippage of the key out of the slots is thus effectively prevented, the recesses l8 and 59 providing journals or bearings The outer spaced from the key shank hearings to 'form guards which prevent contact of the fingers of the user with the tear strip which i coiled on the key.

' In Fig. 4 I have illustrated a second form of the invention, in which the strip guide again is formed from a single piece of metal material having hook portions, slots, and inner recesses exactly as in the case of the first form. In the form of Fig. 4, however, th free ends of the arms thereof are inturned toward each other asat 2i! and 2! respectively, and are spaced apart a short distance and haveinwardly beveled ends 22 and r 23. The form of Fig. 4, accordingly, also provides a combined strip guide and key clip, the arms of the strip guide being readily sprung apart for the purpose -of entering the apertured handle of Mickey therebetween. The key itself, in this form of the invention; is soldered to the can top in the conventional manner. When the key and strip guide are to be :putin use, the key is simply pulled on the can top in the ordinary way, and is pulled out of the strip guide, the beveled ends 22 and 23 causing the arms of the strip guide to spring apart for this purpose. The strip guide is I then used in the manner of the first form and readily illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2.

metal can be used without sacrificing strength.

In the form of the invention as illustrated in Fig. 6, the single piece of material from which the strip guide is formed is provided with the arms 2? and 28 formed with the hook portions and slotted sides, exactly as in the previous forms illustrated and described. In this form of the invention, however, the arms 21 and 28 are elongated considerably as compared to the first forms of the invention, the arms 21 and 28 being offset intermediate their ends and brought together in converging relation, so as to provide an elongated handle 29 for the strip guide which can be readily grasped by the operator during the winding of the ke 7.

It may be noted that the forms of the invention illustrated in Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive illustrate examples of the invention which can be of the disposable type. In other words, these first forms of the invention are of a type designed to be sold, one with each can, and thrown away with the key after the can has been opened. In the form of the invention as illustrated in Figs. 5 and however, the strip guide is of a type which can be sold separately from the container, so as to be retained in the household, for repeated use on each occasion that a can is to be opened.

What is claimed is:

A strip guide adapted for detachable connection to a can opening key of the type which includes a shank having an elongated longitudinally extending strip receiving opening extending therethrough intermediate the ends thereof, said strip guide comprising a body having a pair of spaced parallel arms, platelike hook members ;carried by the-arms and extending outwardly therefrom intermediate the ends thereof, said heck members defining with th arms aligned k y shank receiving slots having end walls which lie concentricabout an axis which lies perpendicular to the arms, the end walls of the slots forming bearings for engaging-a key shank adjacent opposite ends of the opening therein, the outer edges of the platelike hooks being convex and spaced from the key shank hearings to form guards which prevent contact of the fingers of the user with the tear strip which is coiled on thekey.

WILLIAM H. INMAN. 

